Really Lousy Weekend

Ever had one of those weekends where just about nothing goes right? Well I just did. We took the TAFC to Woodburn for their season opener. Right off the bat the effing generator wouldn't start. You guys know how much we depend on having electricity in the pits. No air compressor, no lights, no computers- talk about old old school. We borrowed a generator from the Ashwell team- My hat is off to them for helping us out. By the way Cummins/Onan advertises 24 hour/365 days a year field service-it's all BS. No matter how much money I offered them they wouldn't come out and fix the damn thing. My exact words to Guido the service manager for the Portland branch of Cummins NW were "I need that generator more than I need the money". He still wouldn't send the field tech out to even look at it. No wonder some companies are going under when they WON"T take the customer's money.
Then the Racepak wouldn't work for most of the weekend. The damn car wouldn't go down the track to save my life including one run-in with the left lane wall. This gave me matching crinkled headers, the left side to match the right side I crinkled last year. And to finish it off the AC on the Freightliner took a dump on the way home. I haven't been that glad to get home alive since I let my mom drive me to home from the bar one night. Wahoooo.
Dave Germain

 

phit happens

so I should buy a honda generator? well I guess my getting shut off because of an oil leak wasnt so bad. its tuff to go out the first time and set a new track record. and the cops dont like it when we play in the streets. damn long winter. bound tobe some bad stuff happen. at least you dont have to buy new aluminum parts

 

Don't know what your generator issue is but my local Onan man told me if they sit for more than 2 weeks with ehtanol blended gas the carb starts to varnish up. I found out the hard way.

 

My generator is a 12 kw diesel commercial model that is mounted along the frame of my Freightliner under the hauler bed. We used it a week ago while diplaying the race car at a car show. I shut it off and somewhere during that week it burned the control board and starter to a crisp- All while shut off. Amazing. Dave Germain

 

dave look at it this way at least you were able to go home the rest of that shit you can replace but i do know what you mean

 

Has to be an Onan
I had one do the same thing but my starter was still ok

 

onan

I was ready to buy this Killer deal on an Onan 6500 for about 950.00, sounded to good tobe true. it was, it was a chineese ripoff that cummins nw was selling. they forgot to mention that the things dont hold up to continuis use. takes out the head gasket. sad that everything has a reduced, economy model. cheap shit. kinda like cheap fuel my bad. anyway the cummins guy would not send a mechanic? his district higher ups would hear from me. does Cat make a small generator?

 

i have a 28 kw onan with a mind of its own....good luck..dave
www.myspace.com/daveloweswr

 

My girlfriend's input: Lousy weekend??? She was working, you were racing....how lousy could it be.

 

My girlfriend used to say that until I brought her with me one weekend. She left after one day.

 

dave is one of the lucky few, his wife MAKES him go race. and she comes along. I wish theyd hurry up with that cloning thing.

 

Mine absoltuely loves it. Wants her own bracket car. She races her explorer in the Summit races sometimes

She also tows mine around on raceday. I'm lucky. My EX wife went to the track like 3 times in 14 years.

 

My ex wife used to go with me alot. It always ended up in a fight. My wife now doesn't dig the races at all. She just says "Get the hell outta here".
I've had testing days where we never made it off the stand. I used to say, I bet you thought we were going down the track. Were just here to test the stand.
Years ago, I used to help a friend with his Super Comp dragster. We left for Sacramento one night and had 2 flats on the trailer on the way up. Left the trailer on the side of the road, drove to Fresno and waited for a gas station to open so we could get some tires. Put the wheels back on and went to the race track. On the way home driving down Excelsior, some old couple was honking their horn and waving at us. We just waved back. About five miles down the road, I realized why they were waving. The awning had fallen off the trailer and we were dragging it down the road. It was a brand new awning.

 

Who ever coined the phase "getting there is half the fun" I would like to kill!

 

Dave, I have had a few weekends like that including one where the paint on the car chipped, I fell down in the gravel off a scooter and bloodied my self up. the starter went out on the truck, the awnings collapsed, we had a bad motel, a bad Denney's, and bad company all weekend. A wheel bearing went out in the car on the way down and the transmission went out on the truck near Azailia Oregon at 2:00 AM on the way home. To top it off, my wife and I got in a minor fight at Abby's Pizza as well. It was a hell of a trip down there to Sonoma.

 

You had a bad weekend - I think mine might have been worse...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pma27/3558117013/ ......

At least I walked away ;-)

 

Your link doesn't work. It has too many HTTP:'S in it

Sorry about the oil down and roll over

http://http://www.flickr.com/photos/pma27/3558117013/ ......

At least I walked away ;-)[/QUOTE]

 

Thanks, Dave. At least Will is having a good weekend - one of his cars just set the European speed record ....